‘They have not chosen that path’: US says India not cooperating with Canada on Nijjar case

India-Canada row: The US has said that India is not cooperating with Canada on the investigation of the Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing case. This comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canada approached India repeatedly to cooperate on the case but India refused to. India has denied all the claims and demanded the evidence Canada has cited to level the allegations. 

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during his daily news conference, “When it comes to the Canadian matter, we have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously. We wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation. Obviously, they have not chosen that path.” 

Meanwhile, Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh has called for a ban on RSS and asked for ‘severe sanctions’ against the Indian diplomats. “We demand that the Liberal government implement severe sanctions on Indian diplomats and banish the RSS, a violent, militant, terrorist organisation from India, which is a group that operates here in Canada and in other countries as well,” he said. 

A day before this, Trudeau said that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has clear and compelling evidence that agents of the Indian government have engaged and continue to engage in “activities that pose a significant threat to public safety”. 

India and Canada both expelled each other’s diplomats from their countries. 

India rejected the allegations and said that the Trudeau government did not share a “shred of evidence” to back their allegations. “Since Prime Minister Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023, the Canadian government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side. This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The ministry accused the Trudeau government of openly espousing a separatist ideology when it comes to India. “Under criticism for turning a blind eye to foreign interference in Canadian politics, his government has deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage. This latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction,” said the ministry.